So I did my first Zendikar draft recently, and it went pretty well. I made some decisions that I’m not sure I would make again, but it worked out this time. I knew going into the draft that Zendikar is a very fast format, which definitely colored the way I drafted.

Round 1 vs Red/White Aggro
His deck was very fast and aggressive, but lacking removal, and the creatures were not quite as good as mine. Game 1 was a close race between his Goblin War Painted Steppe Lynx and Slaughter Crys and my Plated Geopedes. At the end, I swung to put him at 2, knowing he needed a land and the Cry to kill me. He had the Cry, but no land, and took me to 1 before I finished him off. Game 2 he got a slower draw and never stood a chance.

Round 2 vs Blue/Red

I only saw a total of 6 cards out of his deck, as it was not fast enough to keep up with mine.

Round 3 vs Blue/Black

Game 1 I made a couple of play mistakes, plus missed a couple of Blood Seeker triggers. It was still a close game, but between my mistakes and his 3 counters (Summoner’s Bane + 2 Cancels), I couldn’t pull it out.

Game 2 I got out to a fast start and slaughtered him.

Game 3 I again got out to a fast start, but he managed to somewhat stabilize at 2 (hovering between 2 and 4 for awhile) thanks to a Vampire Nighthawk that just barely kept me from getting enough damage through to finish him off, and enabled him to occasionally attack so he could get another creature through my Blood Seeker. Also, his Shoal Serpents made a formidable wall, although Plated Geopede equipped with Adventuring Gear took out one before dying to the second (5/5 first striker is really good.) Eventually, I had enough creatures to get one through, and the Gear plus a land made all of them lethal.